A.J Dagga Tolar, poet, social activist, and secretary of the Labour and Civil Societies Coalition in Lagos State, as well as the Coordinator of the Ajegunle People‘s Movement, the group that led the recent violent protest against Police brutality and extra-judicial arrests in the area, recounts what happened on Saturday, April 3, 2010. He speaks with CHUX OHAI.
Your name doesn‘t sound Nigerian. Are you Nigerian?
The thing is to ask what a name is. A name is an identifying mark. It only serves to distinguish one individual from another individual. The fact that my name serves this purpose is enough to identify who I am. I was born in Ajegunle. So my being a part and parcel of this geographical entity known as Nigeria cannot be denied by those who know me closely. It is evident in my actions, past and present, what I write, and those things that have given birth to ideas in this country. They are a reflection of my identity. If we must build a new society for ourselves, the attempt to divide ourselves into groups and classes, when in fact we are one people, is unnecessary. Last week in Ajegunle, when we decided to protest the injustice in the area, we didn‘t have to ask the people whether they were Nigerians or what states they came from before they identified with the cause. There is something that brings all of us together. It is this unity that our rulers have not been able to exploit to create a better society for everybody in this country.
Is it true that you led the recent protest against police brutality in Ajegunle?
Yes, it is true. We could not but at that moment identify with the youths and the people of that community. We have also acted in the past on the same issues in this community. Considering the fact that in 2002 we protested the actions of the police, it would have been treacherous on our part not to play the same role last week.
You just mentioned that as far back as 2002, there have been cases of police brutality in Ajegunle.
I should say that it has become a habit among the police in Ajegunle to oppress and brutalize the inhabitants. Ajegunle has become a permanent feasting pot for the rank and file of the police. What Fela Anikulapo-Kuti used to say about police stations serving as banks with the DPOs as the bank managers is very true about the police in Ajegunle. Imagine a situation where illegal raids are carried out by police men and women in the area and innocent people forced into buses commandeered by them. These people are taken away, arrested for no offences, and made to part with their hard earned money. It is that bad. In 2009, the Area B commander, Kenneth Ebirison, sent his men to pick me. They brought me to his office and we had a meeting, during which he called for our cooperation towards ensuring peaceful co-existence in the community. Of course, we reached an understanding and thereafter, on a number of occasions we had to intervene whenever any member of the community was arrested by his men. But the question is, how many people in Ajegunle would have to wait for a Daggar Tolar to secure their release from wrongful detention by the police? So when the raid that resulted in the death of Charles Okafor took place, the people saw their opportunity to move against police brutality and to ensure that the police authorities put an end to it. What we did was to use our organization as a platform to bring this to the knowledge of the authorities and the general public on April 2, 2010.
What did you discuss with the police area commander in Ajegunle when you had the meeting with him in 2009?
He said that I had been invited on the basis of a rumour that some people were planning to attack the police station. It wasn‘t the first time that they made such a claim. What we did was call a meeting in the community to discuss the issue. We didn‘t do more than that. We circulated leaflets inviting members of the community in the various neighbourhoods. There was a time when the police thought that the threat was coming from a few people who had nothing to do other than to foment trouble. Meetings were held on various platforms within the community to discuss this issue. The response was such that proved how enthusiastic the people were about coming together to tackle a common problem. Initially we were assured of a change in the situation in Ajegunle after meeting with the police. A new Divisional Police Officer arrived and we had another meeting with him. Later it was resolved that the community would be having a joint monthly meeting with the police in Ajegunle that would serve as a forum to address issues that were of mutual importance. But it soon became clear while this was going on, it was business, as usual, underground.
You mean that the police did not keep their own end of the deal?
They did not keep their own end of the deal. It is clear that the incident of April 1 would not have taken place, if they did. At this point, it is important to state clearly that the police treats us very badly because we live in Ajegunle. The kind of things that they do to us, they can‘t do to other Nigerians that live in places like Ikoyi or Victoria Island. They take it for granted that we are not educated and so we cannot defend ourselves or fight for our rights. And then, because many youths who live in Ajegune are unemployed and a lot of working class people in the community are unemployed and helpless. When such people get into trouble with the police, they do everything possible to make sure that they break in free from the clutches of the law enforcement officers. And this is where money begins to exchange hands.
Tell us exactly how the police behave to the people of Ajegunle
On the days that football matches are shown in the viewing centres, there is always a large turn-out of youths in such places. That is when armed police men decide to carry out raids in the community. They would swoop on the viewing centres and forcibly arrest anybody in sight. The police would not set them free until they had paid in cash. Secondly, they (the police)are fond of mounting illegal checkpoints in the community and in the process of extorting more money from the people through these checkpoints, they gave room to the activities of unscrupulous characters who parade themselves as policemen, but they are, in fact, official informers to the police and partakers in the plot to exploit the people to death. Imagine a man sending out his young son on an errand only to be told few minutes later that the boy had been arrested by the raiding police gangs. This is the kind of thing that they do to us.
Did the police at any time explain why they carried out raids in the area?
They gave one excuse, which is the traditional excuse. They said that raiding was one effective method of curbing crime in the community. They vowed to continue to carry out such raids on ‘black spots‘ as long as it would enable them to keep criminals from operating in the community. But, you know, the so-called ‘black spots‘ only live in the imagination of the police. What they call ‘black spots‘ are duly registered and legitimate television viewing centres. Everybody has a fundamental right to move freely, even if he has to walk the entire lenght and breadth of the country. As long as they are not flouting any related rule, it is their legitimate right to go anywhere in this country. But the police does not seem to realize this a d this is what created tension.
So what you are saying is that no criminal offence took place in Ajegunle that would have warranted such raids by the police?
The kind of raids that we have experienced in Ajegunle these past years, could make anyone to conclude that all crimes recorded in Lagos State must have be committed by the residents of Ajegunle. For crying out loud, Ajegunle is like any other community in Nigeria and we face the same challenges as the people in other parts of the country.
But you know that Ajegunle is commonly referred to as the Jungle City and the seat of crime in Lagos State. Are you saying now that the status quo has since been reversed and therefore, the police have no moral justification for their actions in the community?
Ajegunle is what other Nigerians think it is as a result of the failure of the ruling class in Nigeria to manage the resources of the nation efficiently. The level of unemployment that you find in places like Ajegunle is not any different from any other community of its kind and size. But, like you rightly suggested, things are no longer what they used to be in the community. I tell you, the majority of the people go about their normal business legitimately, even when they practically have very little or nothing to survive on. They do not indulge any crime whatsoever. If the police say that they are raiding us because of criminal activities in the area, they are lying. They have resorted to carrying out raids because they want to augment their incomes and not necessarily because the people of Ajegunle are committing crimes.
How long have you lived in Ajegunle?
I was born there, like I have said before. I spent the first eight years of my life there. Subsequently I lived in Ojo Military Cantonment for five years before returning to Ajegunle in 1979. I lived there up until late in 2009.
Are you currently resident there?
I have a dual residence. Now I live in both Ajegunle and in Okota.
Which means that you are not hundred per cent aware of what goes on in Ajegunle everyday?
To begin with, I work in Ajegunle, which means that every day or every other day, I am in Ajegunle. Secondly, I don‘t operate as an individual. I operate as part of an organization that is on the ground and holds meetings from time to time to assess the situation in the area.
Was there any incident that remotely provoked the police to carry out the raid that led to the death of Charles Okafor?
No. There was none to justify the nightly raids by the police in a bus and the wrongful arrest of innocent men and women, even under-aged children in the community.
So these raids were a build-up to what happened on April 1?
Exactly. It explained why there was overwhelming response on April 3 to the call to protest the way we were treated by the police. Nearly everybody in the community had fallen victim to the raiding gangs or had a friend or relative that had fallen victim and made to part with money at one point or the other.
Where were you on that day?
On Friday I had a meeting in Egbeda. I was editing a new collection of poetry. At a point I was informed about the situation in Ajegunle. We felt that we had to do something quickly to douse the tension in the air around the community before the situation got out of hand. We had to call a general meeting, during which a list of demands by the people was drawn up. Also we decided that the time was ripe for a formal protest. Part of the resolution was that the police must issue a public statement informing all residents of the community that the raids must come to an end. Other issues were mentioned at the meeting. Later, we visited the family of late Charles Okafor and condoled with them.
What happened afterwards?
The protest kicked off on the next day, which was a Saturday. There was so much anger that the aggrieved saw the protest as a means of expressing their feelings. We had two objectives, which was to submit a petition each at the police station and at the office of the chairman of the local government council. At the same time, we had decided to deliver a coffin representing the lives of those killed by the police at the station. As we moved on, through the Boundary area, more people joined the protest. Finally by the time we got to the police station, an armoured car had been positioned and additional reinforcements called in from other police stations within Area B Command. The Area B commander himself was present. At some point the large crowd of protesters felt that the presence of the police was too intimidating. They became restive and before we knew it, despite our attempts to calm them, the protest broke down. Stones began to fly in the air both to and from the police. Temporarily we managed to calm down the crowd and proceeded to present our petition to Mr. Ebirison. Then some of his men began to order the crowd to go away. This angered the mass of protesters and subsequently defeated the original motive for the protest, which was to force the police to publicly announce that there would be no more raids in the community.
Didn‘t the police show remorse for their actions?
That was the idea in making them apologize to the people and to promise never to raid the community again. They didn‘t show remorse. Later they insisted that they learnt that hoodlums were planning to burn down the station.
So what happened?
At a point, they opened fire with live bullets on the protesters.
Who gave the order to shoot?
Of course, the order could not have come from the State Police Commissioner who was not on ground on that day. Obviously it must have come from the man who was in charge at the scene of the protest. As a result, Tunde Olotunbi and Kadiri were killed and several others wounded. For several hours afterwards, the police started hunting down people in the streets. They arrested 26 people and went on to announce that they were the youths who were caught with arms and petrol and car tyres on the day of the protest.
Is it true that some people carried weapons on the day of the protest?
If they did, you can be sure that they would have been forced to engage the police in a shootout on that day.
So why were you arrested by the police?
I must say that the police, acting true to type, wanted to hang the blame on me. They had announced that we were hoodlums and made some arrangement to prove it. But the protest had taken them unawares. They had failed to reckon with the fact that Ajegunle was capable of producing individuals like me that were literate and who had a long history of involvement in various rallies and protests. They wanted to put the blame on my colleagues and I as a warning to others to desist from taking the kind of action that we took. I was deceived into attending a meeting in the office of the Ajeromi local government council chairman. I was arrested and taken to Area B Command. To my surprise, as soon as we were ushered in, the Area Commander, Kenneth Ebirison stood up in anger and said I was the one who led the people to hurl stones at the police. He said that if he had had his way on that day, he would have shot me himself. Of course, that outburst told me that he had spoken the intentions of the police, which was to make me a scape-goat for what happened. Much later, seeing that he could not keep me in detention against the tide of numerous calls and demands for my release, he had to order his men to set me free.
What is the situation in Ajegunle now?
The situation is gradually returning to normal. But I am not taking the area commander‘s words lightly. I know he has indirectly revealed what the police intends to do with me. So I don‘t want to see his threat as a blind one.
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